SHA Update

This web site, which was scheduled for closing in March 2008, has been given a one-year extension.  If you have not already done so, please record the contact information appearing below.

In August 2007, Sister Jeanne sent a letter to alumnae, families and other friends.  She informed us that Stepping Stones was closed in June 2007, having kept the campus very much alive during the first school year after the Academy's closing.  She specially noted:

• Transcripts are now on file at the Sisters of St. Joseph Provincial House, 27 Park Road, West Hartford CT 06119.  Phone 860-233-5126 and ask for Sister Mary Jude.  For SHA business, you can also send e-mail to SacredHeartAdmn@aol.com.
• Both memorial brick gardens--SHA's Circle of Honor and St. Joseph's Grove--are being relocated to the Provincial House.  All friends of SHA and St. Joseph's Hospital are welcome to visit them at any time.
• This web site will be continued, either in its present form or as part of www.sistersofsaintjoseph.org.  Any anticipated changes will be posted here in advance.  The web site is now intended to memorialize the Academy and to support the continuing relationships among Academians, the Sisters of Saint Joseph and other friends of the Academy.
• There has been no sale of the land and buildings at 200 Strawberry Hill Avenue.

Sister Jeanne ended her message by expressing her appreciation for the opportunity to serve the SHA and Stepping Stones Communities, assuring us that we should always feel free to contact her at jeannepcsj@aol.com, and praying...

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again...
May God hold you in the palm of His hand. 

Celebrating SHA '07

On Sunday, May 7, 2007, the Class of 2007 returned to Sacred Heart Academy for a celebration of the Eucharist and one last goodbye.  In January 2006, these girls were beginning their college searches and looking forward to finally becoming the SHA Seniors.  Suddenly, they were searching for alternative high schools, instead, and looking forward to being the new girls among the seniors in other schools.  The sadness of SHA's closing was experienced in many different ways, but no group was more profoundly affected than our Class of 2007, so it is appropriate that they had this special opportunity to share the last goodbye. 

Celebrating SHA

Saturday, June 17, 2006 was formally declared Sacred Heart Academy Day by the City of Stamford.  On that date, over 1,000 Friends of the Academy gathered to celebrate all the goodness that was shared on these grounds since 1922.  Mass was celebrated under a large tent on Kelly Field.  The buildings were opened for visiting and informal gatherings by class, and then there was music, food, and refreshment, as well as plenty of laughing and crying.  It was as fitting a tribute and sendoff as we could have imagined.  Thanks to everyone involved.

Monsignor Surwilo reminded us that, for the people of Sacred Heart Academy,  some things have changed, but not as much as we might think.  This is especially true for SHA alumnae.  Indeed, realizing that they are a little bit more dependent on each other to keep the memory of SHA alive, their connections may become stronger than ever.  We hope they will.

The important and valuable characteristics of SHA changed very little over the course of 84 years.  As a symbol of that fact, we recently added the following pages to this site, including pictures of all our graduating classes.  We encourage you to look at your own class's picture and then compare it with pictures of the oldest and youngest classes.  Change was constant at SHA, but tradition was even more persistent than change.  Enjoy!

1926-1939     1940-1959     1960-1979     1980-1999     2000-2006
 

Interested in seeing Hay Photographers' pictures of our June 6, 2006 Graduation and our June 17, 2006 Celebration?

  Click here.  Enter "wedding" as the password.
The June 6 photos open by default.  To see the June 17 photos, use the "View More Photos" drop-down menu.

Communications.  The fact that SHA is not enrolling new students does not change the fact that it has thousands of alumnae! 

Legacies.  A couple of years before SHA's closing, the lead article in an Education Supplement in The Advocate told the stories of several families in which the SHA experience was shared by mothers and daughters, as well as by sisters.  An earlier article, written by Mrs. Pietrangelo, described the importance of tradition at SHA.  Although it was addressed to prospective students and their families, we recommend it now to all members of the SHA Community.  Please click here. 

Graduation Day
As we read the list of graduates, each name brings to mind a well-known face and special memories of the previous four years.  You simply could not attend school here without being an important part of everyone else's experience.  Larger schools have their advantages but, when we ask students and teachers at such schools, "Do you know so and so?" we often hear, "This is a big place.  You can't expect me to know everyone."  We DID know everyone at SHA, and it made our graduations both happy and sad.  We were proud to see how each of these young women had grown, grateful for the difference she made in our lives, and excited about her capability to change the world for the better, yet sad to know that we will not see her as often in the future.  God, bless all our former students.  Thank You for making them and us part of SHA. 

SHA's History.  The school year of 1922-23 fulfilled a dream long held by our founding sisters, to provide an independent Catholic high school education for girls in Stamford.  To learn more about the faithful and generous women who cared enough to create SHA for all of us, visit our history page.  Along with the rest of the world, SHA changed in the course of 84 years, but--thanks to so many members of the SHA Community--the vision of its generous founders was fulfilled every day.

Classes of 2007, 2008 & 2009.  These girls carry SHA in their hearts, and are sharing its best attributes in the schools they now attend.  Like sisters, and like SHA graduates, they are looking out for each other.

Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery
27 Park Road
West Hartford, CT 06119-1852
***
860-233-5126
www.sistersofsaintjoseph.org 

"SHA is a unique treasure.
  We must never take it for granted."
Those words were printed here during the last several years of SHA's existence.  Look around for the other treasures in your life.  Cherish and protect them.

HIGH HONORS
GPA ≥ 3.7; lowest grade ≥ 3.5

SECOND HONORS
GPA ≥ 3.2; lowest grade ≥ 3.0

Well done!
Please visit our Honor Societies page, where we proudly list the final class of members in SHA's chapters of the National, French and Spanish Honor Societies.  As society members in service to the school, these students demonstrated their understanding that honor implies responsibility and duty.